Filthy Pleasure
by elebelly
Summary: Cloud, at the top of his game, loves to indulge in the insatiable guilty pleasures which are thrown his way. Tifa however, finds herself out of job, out of love, out of hope. When their worlds collide which way will sparks fly? Quite Dark. AU/OoC. Cloti
1. Guilty

Disclaimer: NO I don't own the wonderful world of FFVII :(.

* * *

_Thunder. His hands were unstoppable, tearing at her little black number, exposing her flesh. Gucci, he guessed, not that it mattered anymore, as with a flash of practiced precision it was swiped from her and thrown to lie as a messy heap on the floor. He smirked. She threw her head back on the bed, closing her eyes, a light blush on her cheeks as the air of the room cooled her barely clothed form. He positioned himself, running his fingers up her deliciously smooth hips, to hover over the sides of her bra. Lightning. The weather was relentless outside, cold and miserable, definitely doing irreparable damage to the luxurious car leather as the convertible roof was left wide open…not like the owner gave a shit. He slowly, teasingly, slid his hands beneath the flimsy crimson material. She moaned. Sensuously whispering his name as he continued his ministrations, his mouth, hot, now in place..."Cloud…"_

* * *

_Bzzz…Bzzz_

He couldn't hear anything, but he could feel vibrations. In fact, he couldn't hear _anything. _Urging his body, he brought his right hand up and smacked the side of his head. Yawning loudly he noticed a hazy melody playing. Rolling his head a little he waited till his sleep-dazed state completely escaped him…

_...__You might catch me in Atlanta looking like a boss__  
__New Orleans and then Miami, party in New York__..._

His phone…sitting up in his bed, he blinked away the sleep from his eyes and examined the state he left his room in last night, which was chaotic to say the least. The ringtone started again. _S_hifting to the side he found the ringtone was slightly louder, turning fully he saw the smooth naked form of a woman sprawled shamelessly across the sheets. He smirked. _What a night…_ Leaning closer, he established the ringtone got louder, so he inspected around the body, jerking her leg up off the bed and, _bingo! _Grabbing his phone he dropped the woman's leg without a second thought. She stirred, awakening slowly, whilst he picked up, knowing who it was.

"Hey Za-"

"CLOUD! GET YOUR LAZY ARSE OUT OF BED NOW! AND NO, I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHETHER YOU'RE IN THE MIDST OF FUCKING ANGELINA JOLIE…well actually…NO! YOUR SHOOT DOWN BY THE DOCKS IS IN AN HOUR! GET HERE CLOUD!"

"Jesus…Zack, you need to get laid man…there's this girl I know-"

"CLOUD! Did none of what I just said get into that scrawny little head of yours?!"

"Yeah yeah, I got you" – _Yawn _– "You know they would wait anyway..."

"I know that Cloud! But time is money and…argh…its pointless. Hold up why the hell didn't your PA wa-…"

It clicked.

"You're fucking her aren't you?" He said with resignation, which craftfully masked his amazement, just how _DOES_ he do it?!

Cloud smirked, "Zack, I'm very disappointed with these girls you're employing," he stole a glance at the wakening woman, "they're getting younger by the month."

"Week more like Cloud, you haven't had one for more than a week! Cant you keep your hands off them?!"

"You wouldn't, hypocrite..."

"Fine whatever, I'm gonna have to fire her…maybe I should pick a guy next time…"

"And when you do, I'll break your legs."

Zack groaned, "Come on man ju-"

But by this time Cloud had already hung up, as the sleeping-beauty had fully awoken, and subsequently started nibbling on his ear. Cloud stretched again, mentally preparing himself for his usual post sex 'talk'.

"Listen…"

"Hmm?" She murmured as her lips made their way to his neck, nipping at the smooth milky skin.

He turned, moving her off him and faced her in bed, "Listen, I ha-"

In a flash she shifted a leg across his body effectively straddling him and lowered her mouth, tongue caressing down his chest.

"Look, I really…"

"Mmm…" she moaned as her tongue dipped lower…and lower…

_Argh fuck it_. He couldn't concentrate, so he did what he could, give up. Anyway, being who he was he could afford to indulge in a few guilty pleasures now and then.

* * *

Exhausted as she was, she forced herself to push the trolley piled with horrendously huge suitcases. _I knew taking so many clothes would kick me in the arse. _She kept pushing, grunting every so often which brought her odd stares from onlookers, _anyone have the decency to offer hand?! HUH! _Unfortunately her silent cry went unheeded, as everyone else tended to their own trolleys. Sighing to herself she took a quick glance around the tower of bags blocking her view to make sure no one was crossing her path. Certain that was the case; she examined the route further ahead, and found herself faced with enemy number two: a ramp. Eyes squinting, teeth gritting, she was _positive _she could do it.

One step, deep breath. _PUSH! _Another step, breathe. _PUUSH! _Third step. _PUUUSH...shit_. She realised she forgot to breathe, and therefore had no more strength left in her to heave her trolley up and over the ramp, and so…she fell. The weight of the trolley pushed her back in an instant, making her have to spring to the right to prevent herself from being run over and squashed. Rolling a couple of times she came to a halt, when in the distance she heard a squeal, which oddly sounded as if it came from an elderly woman…Then a couple of seconds later…_CRASH! _She slowly cracked open an eye, only to find tens of people surrounding her, open mouthed. A blush crept onto her face and she groaned and rolled over, face down. _Maybe I'll pretend I'm dead, surely the trolley killed that woman…right, act dead._ A man, one of those who were standing around her decided to reach down to check her pulse.

_(Some time later...)_

"I, on behalf of Tokyo International Airport, am so sorry for this incident Miss Lockhart, is there _any_ way that we can repay you for your misfortunes?"

Tifa dusted herself off from the ambulance, "Yes, there is one thing."

The security man eyed her cautiously, "What is that, Miss?"

"I want someone to bring my luggage…"

The airport manager's eyes bulged, he would need to bring reinforcements, "Sure, that can be done."

Dragging the last of her bags inside, Tifa closed the door of the bar. It was only 2.30, and her bar-hand Yuffie, one of her closest friends, had not arrived yet. Yuffie had taken care of the bar whilst Tifa was in Malaysia for the past week, and was known for not being one of the most cautious of people, so Tifa took a look around, making sure everything was in place. Happy with what she found she trudged upstairs, ignoring the bags which needed to go up with her, walked into her room and flung herself on the bed._ Home sweet home_, there was nothing like your _own_ bed, especially if you compare it to that of a 2 star hotel. All thoughts flitted from her mind as she steadily felt sleep descend upon her, until…_JOHNNY!_ Johnny was Tifa's now 3 month boyfriend. He was an attractive happy-go-lucky sort of bloke, always doing _something_, but was so far, ever faithful to Tifa. She had all the hope in the world this would last through, considering her string of previous boyfriends had never been good kid role models (Tifa always typically fancied the bad boy type), however Johnny was different! Johnny was amazing! Johnny was…

_Bzzz…Bzzz_

Snatching her phone from the depths of her jeans pocket, she glanced at the called ID: Johnny! _It was as if he could read her mind. _She hastily picked it up,

"Johnny!"

"Babe…you're back huh…"

She frowned, "Yeah! I was just thinking about you. How have you been without me?" she smiled, she knew he'd say something endearing, something which would make her day...Something that would solidify their relationship in her mind even more.

"Tifa…we need to talk."

Her face dropped. _How cliché,_ she thought bitterly. Love's most dreaded four words. "Err…ok…"

"You see…with you gone…like…erm…what I'm trying to say is…shit…"

Tifa froze and her heart twanged painfully. Nothing moved as her eyes glazed over. _I can't be hearing this…it can't be…_

"Tifa, it's not working out…"

"Wha…what did you say?" her voice broke.

"Fuck, babe-"

"Don't call me that."

"What?"

"You heard me, don't call me that." A tear escaped, making its way down her cheek.

"Ok…Tifa, I'm sorry."

That's all it took. The flood gates opened, and with Tifa, when it rains, it pours.

* * *

A/N: Hey! It's Ele here :) Just wanted to start something new, and I _know_ it sounds a little typical and cliché, but i hope it'll get a little different and darker perhaps :) later on! Review please!

**A/N: Revised 23/05/13 Words can not describe how sorry I am for making all of you, my lovely and appreciated followers, wait so long for something new with this fic, however I am glad to tell you that THIS IS NOT DEAD, and all hope has not been lost :). I didn't really like the original sound of this chapter so I tweaked it a bit, mainly changing the way both Cloud and Tifa sounded in their own heads, to fit my current tone of writing. So hope you all like the changes and the new upcoming chapter!**


	2. Double D In Fact

Disclaimer: No, no ownership here :(

* * *

Yuffie bounded into the bar, her usual exuberant self, upon seeing the colossal pile of bags left by the door, she squealed with delight. _Tifa's home!_ _Oh yess! Finally no more pervy guys staring at ME!_ She clambered up the stairs taking two at a time, thinking Tifa was in her room. She was about to barge in when she caught the stifled sobs of the person inside. Eyes widening in worry she knocked, which was thoroughly not herself,

"Tifa…you there?"

Tifa smiled a little, _thank god Yuffie's here_. She could count on her for comfort, "Come in."

Yuffie purposefully albeit carefully opened the door, revealing a Tifa curled up on her bed inside. "God, what happened Tifa? Was the flight hijacked? Did you meet the love of your life on the journey, but failed to get his number? What's wrong Tifa?"

Tifa sat up, and sent a startled glance her way, _Yuffie and her imagination…_She rolled her eyes and was about to say something when Yuffie interjected,

"Oh wait, scrap the _"love of your life"_ crap, you have Johnny," she smiled, "Shall I call him over, I'm sure he can make you better." She winked suggestively.

Tifa's eyes immediately glazed over and grew distant, _oh Yuffie,_ "He…Yuffie…I-"

Yuffie's smile faltered as she regarded the other woman's red and puffy eyes ready for the next onslaught of tears, she sighed ruefully, "God Tifa…that son of a bitch."

She kneeled up on the bed and hugged Tifa tightly, after a few silenced seconds, "You want me to beat him up Tif? My shruiken proves to be very useful in times like these babe."

"What! No!" Tifa smiled, she could always count of Yuffie.

After a few minutes of Yuffie's comforting, she had declared that she had something which would _"Make Tifa's day"_, Yuffie could never stay put for more than five minutes anyway. And so, Tifa groggily followed Yuffie to her room on the other side of hallway. Stepping inside, Yuffie dashed to her cupboard, and started to tear the clothes out from the confines, messing the place up even more. Manoeuvring over all the crap on the floor, Tifa examined the room with slight distaste, she was pretty damn sure that if a bomb exploded in it tomorrow, the room wouldn't look any different. She sent silent prayers that at least it didn't smell as if something had died in it, like it had last week. She smiled whilst looking at her 17 year old friend, she may have the maturity level of a 3 year old, but you needed someone like that, someone to take the stress of now and again. Someone to have a good laugh with. Sitting down on the single bed, she gazed at the walls; well you couldn't exactly _see_ them. Yuffie had an immense bank of posters which ranged from cute animals to heavy metal bands; those were plastered haphazardly covering three of the walls with postit notes stuck on top with Yuffie's own personalised comments. However the fourth wall was a different story. The posters here were stuck with such care, the blue tack stuck evenly, so it didn't create a crumpled bump on the front, pins placed right at the edges, to prevent the holes being visible when the time came to take them down. _If that time ever came. _This wall, of careful consideration, was dedicated to, none other than: _The _Cloud Strife.

Tifa scowled with disgust, _that man, _she was sure, held no moral values. _I mean, what attracts everyone of both female and male gender to someone so full of themselves! _She thought. Each poster she scanned had him pretty much naked, lean muscles taut and toned to perfection, the light catching each every curve, every angle beautifully…_Eugh._ She stopped her premature drooling, she was _positive_ anyway that he didn't really look like that. That epitome of every woman's dream in man couldn't possibly be real! _The camera works wonders nowadays anyway! _However, she knew that if you take away that cursed face of an angel and orgasmic body, you were bound to be left with a very _ugly_ personality. And that personality was _always_ spun into something not _as_ bad. He went through women like a bat out of hell, the recent record was he was spotted with 3 different girls in one night! Why women went for some one like him, she was mystified. He was hot, rich and insanely famous, she'd give him that, but take that away he was a womanising alcoholic! Who knew what else he did, _drugs? _It wouldn't surprise her, so you see he really didn't have much going for him. She laughed to herself; _although _most_ women wouldn't give a shit._

"Tifa…Tifa! OI! Stop staring at my turbo-dream babe! He's mine." Yuffie waved her hand in front on Tifa's eyes.

Coming out of the daze she didn't realise she was in, she shook her head a little, "Turbo-dream babe? That's so 90's Yuffie…"

She ran up to the "sacred" wall and pointed at one of the pictures, making sure not to touch it, in case she left a mark, "I know! But he did a 90's shoot titled that last week, it's been all over the news Tif, oh god isn't he _gorgeous_"

Rolling her eyes Tifa yawned, "Careful hun, you're gonna flood the place in your drool if you don't stop."

"Shut up…anyway, surprise!" Yuffie held out a box to Tifa. It was red with a golden bow tied neatly on top.

Tifa quirked an eyebrow, "And this is?"

"Just open it!" Yuffie said excitedly.

Tifa took the box from her, untied the bow, and carefully took off the lid. What she found inside made her eyes bulge, "A NEGLIGEE! What the HELL am I meant to do with this?" She hit Yuffie round the head.

"OW! You wear it! Duh! Tif, you're 19 now! And yeah, idiot boy may be out of the picture, but that doesn't mean you can't have your fun! You have _wardrobes_ of miniskirts, I'm sure this wouldn't be too hard to try…"

"Err and with whom may I ask, would I have the pleasure of strutting around in this for?" Tifa questioned, eyebrows knitted together.

"We work in a bar Tif, I'm positive there's at least 20 hot guys which-"

"Are you expecting me to have one night stands?" Tifa cried, that really wasn't her kind of thing, yes, she agreed she wore short skirts, although wardrobes of them may have been a slight exaggeration, but still…Johnny _just _broke up with her! Wasn't Yuffie meant to shower her with chocolates and ice cream, and that kind of thing?

"Fun, Tif…FUN!" She grinned "That cost me a lot you know, Agent Provocateur and all!" She grabbed the skimpy number out of the box and held it in front of her body, "Damn, this will make _any_ guy crazy with lust for you!"

"And that's what I need?"

"Precisely that!"

Tifa gazed at the item again, it was _very sexy_, but not really Tifa's thing. She knew she would be anything but confident in something that see-through. She grinned "Why don't you have it then?"

"Oh no, that would just defeat the purpose." She climbed on top of her chest of drawers, and _attempted _to walk seductively across the surface, "See, my name is Tifa Lockhart," She stuck out her chest and slurred, "And I have triple Z boo-"

"Yuffie!" Tifa glared at her…but after a few seconds of intense staring and silence she broke it and smirked, "Double D in fact" and they both cracked up into cackles of laughter.

Yeah, she could _always_ count of Yuffie.

* * *

"Mr Strife, all we're looking for is vertical sex on hardwood, take it away."

The backdrop was on the docks of one of Tokyo's many ports. The photographer was looking for an industrial feel, and the ships, cranes and other large construction machines were certainly giving that. The mid-evening golden sun gave the whole set a romantic feel, perfect for their iconic campaign shot, however this also meant they had little time. And Strife was never one to be hurried.

The model who Cloud was going to shoot with was one of the top current catwalk models, Lucia Malarié, French and stunning, one of Cloud's favoured mixes. _Going all out aren't they, _he mused.

"Bonjour Lucia," He took her hand gracefully and focused his icy blue eyes on her lighter ones, kissing her knuckles he drawled, "Vous êtes magnifique."

A sea of pink covered her sun kissed face, biting her lip she giggled, obviously embarrassed, "Monsieur Cloud-"

"Cloud, there's no time, the sun's gonna set and we only have tonight! Get it down!" Zack shouted out of nowhere.

Cloud groaned and pulled the French beauty into him, leaning back against the dock railing, signaling to the photographer to start. Taking one of her long slender legs, her brought it up and wrapped it around his naked waist. She smiled, and gazed deep into his eyes, whilst running her hands up his chest to hang loosely around his neck. _Damn_, he was getting turned on, the feel of her hips pressed into his made him instinctively grind against her, a husky growl emitting from his deep in his throat. Their bodies, covered in a light sheen of perspiration due to the heat, caught the rich sunlight wonderfully, making both glow ethereally. Cloud could only stare back, lust evident in his eyes; he knew what was going down tonight…

* * *

"Nice job man, actually look like you two were gonna rip each others clothes off if we stayed any longer."

"Good thing that's happening tonight, right?" Cloud grunted.

Zack chuckled, "I never doubted you man, and I never will."

Cloud leaned back in the passenger seat of the silver Mercedes SL-R, which arrived fresh from Germany earlier that day, a pregnant pause settled on the two and he frowned, "It's been 6 days right?"

"Yup," Zack sighed "It's on tomorrow, got off the phone with Vincent about an hour before you finished the shoot." He glanced sideways at Cloud, he was starting to sound uneasy, "He's a kid, small but agile. He's quick Cloud, real quick."

"Name?" Cloud picked up on Zack's hesitation.

"Jay Zhao, um…19 from China."

"Kid? He's only two years younger Zack, don't get ahead of yourself, Cloud began to smirk, but looked over to see Zack pinch his eyebrows, "What style?"

"Yeah…that's the biggie."

"It can't be that bad, I've got First Tsurugi if anything Zack-"

"That's the problem, you're gonna have to go without it, this guy specializes in Dim Mak."

"Shit…"

"Yup, you'll have to throw everything at him, but he's so fast. Last year I saw him take out someone twice the size, in under 4 minutes! If I found out sooner we could've trained harder or something, I'm not doubting you or anything, but this could end up-"

"Zack," Cloud interjected, "It'll be alright." He retorted forcefully, he had no time to hesitate or be weak. He turned to stare out the window.

"Yeah man." _Hopefully._

The rest of the journey was in silence.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you all are doing well! Had a bit of a problem when i posted this up, cos it didn't appear on the "New Stories" bit under the FFVII category...actually it didn't appear anywhere! I hope it does now though! ANYWAY, thats for those who added this on alert, and for those of you who reviewed, it makes my day! But I'm aiming for way more reviews this time! Please, it would be really appreciated!

Also, i am in the middle of another fic: Finding Reason. So, for those who read this but haven't checked it out, go do so:) Its a lot darker that this...however Filthy Pleasure would hopefully take some twists and turns of its own!

Thanks once again, and review, review, review! :)

xXx


	3. The Hunt

Disclaimer: No...just no.:(

* * *

He could hear the roar of the crowds as the announcer taunted and teased them. The _"kid"-Jay something or other- _was out there already, he could tell by the onslaught of jeers which greeted his opponent, and made his head ache. Taking deep breaths he could feel the familiar sense of dread creep over him, twisting and suffocating his veins. _Breathe in. Breathe out. _He forced himself to quench the throbbing nausea and remember why he was here, why he chose to follow this path of selfish adrenaline and death. He relished in the emotions. This was _his _stadium. _His _Tokyo. _No one,_ had the arena as full as he had, _no one _had nearly half the amount of money betted on their fights, _no one _had reached the heights he had…well this side of the century. He was Cloud Strife, he reminded himself, and he had a job to do, crowds to please, money to earn…

"You ready?"

Cloud twisted around to see the shadowed figure leaning against the door. Wrapping the last of the bandages round his wrists he rolled his head forcing the last cracks out, and jumped on the spot, warming himself up, "As I'll ever be. Cue them in."

The figure pushed himself up from his propped position, and started to walk away. He took a couple steps and paused, without looking back he uttered, "Be careful Cloud."

Cloud kept silent.

* * *

Cloud stepped up into the roofed walkway, which led to a path that snaked through the crowds, which finally ended by the chains of the ring. Men came in from all sides surrounding him, to form some circle of protection, but most knew if anyone, Strife, didn't need it. Cloud's head was still spinning, but he thanked the lord that his nose had gotten use to the sickening concoction of blood, sweat and tears. He saw him. He was in the ring, prancing around like a twit, as if _he _owned the place. It was at this point, as always, that his overwhelming dread dissipated, and his body released that vital initial burst of adrenaline. He closed his eyes and fell into that oh-so-familiar trance. His breathing quickened, as did his heart rate. All sounds became fuzzy and undistinguishable. He heard the announcer faintly say something, and it was as if he turned the volume right down. The crowd was silent. Deathly so. Cloud opened his eyes and saw Jay Zhao stop his movement and visibly tense. He smirked. _It's time_.

Giving a nod to one of the men he was more acquainted with, Rude, he signalled he was ready. Stepping from the closed section, the crowd went ballistic. Cloud, well, he was in his element.

Stepping under the chains (yes chains, these definitely different to the ropes of standard boxing rings), the crowds screams only seemed to impossibly get louder. He met with Zack in his corner, never once looking up to meet the eyes of his opponent.

"They seem to love you more today" he shouted, trying to be heard over the surrounding din.

"Jealous much?" Cloud allowed a smile to grace his face.

"Psssh, it's nothing compared to the sound my women make as I pou-"

"Ah Zack. Their eyes were closed weren't they, not my fault all women envision me as they're fucking." He smirked and tilted his head to look at Zack, the expression disappeared when he immediately realised Zack's attempt at lightening the situation was to calm himself more than Cloud. His mouth was set in a firm line, his eyes directed to the opposite side, Cloud refused to follow his stare, timing was everything.

"You have the biggest ego I have ever come across Strife…it's time." Zack ducked out of the ring, and jumped to the ground. Their eyes met, and he winked, "Get him."

Cloud responded with a firm nod _don't worry man..._and made his way to the ring's centre. From that moment, it was as if he fell into a chasm of emptiness. All the clamour was gone, apart from the sound of his own heartbeat. Keeping his eyes to the ground he saw the shoed feet of the announcer, and the bare ones of his opponent. Finally, he lifted his gaze. Ice blue met cobalt. Cobalt flinched. The blue's penetrating stare was almost haunting, and the other set had to look away. Cloud sneered. The first battle was won.

"Cloud, ready?"

Nod.

"Mr. Zhao?"

Wavering a little, he too nodded.

"Right, commence."

* * *

Taking a step forward they bowed. Then immediately both stepped back. Cloud shook his arms by his sides for a few seconds, never taking his eyes of his adversary. The hunt began.

The racket in the bar that night was unbearable for one poor barmaid. The football was on tonight, with Tokyo FC and Urawa Reds playing each other. The multiple missed chances, and one wrongly given penalty had left Tokyo one down in the middle of the second half, the specific ugly diving incident which led to the smoothly taken spot-kick had just occurred, the bar erupting in curses. Tifa Lockhart was sure they were going to take the roof off. She was happy though, nights like these really brought the customers, to the point on most occasions she and Yuffie never stopped moving. Glancing to her left she spotted Yuffie tearing out her hair at the aforementioned goal, laughing to herself, she went about pouring another beer.

"Yuffie, Yuffie…Yuffie…"

"Oi!" Yuffie appeared and slyly poked a carefully directed finger in Tifa's side, causing her to jerk from the tickling sensation, "Don't use my name in vain."

* * *

While on one side, the poking desired effect was to make someone laugh, the not so green side's aim was anything but pleasant.

One minute he was in front of him, the next…he was gone. Spinning around Cloud tried to discern where the _agile little twerp_ was now. _Seriously, he has some superman shit going down here_, he groaned inwardly. Suddenly there was a flash of green of the right. Cloud snapped around, bringing his body in a defence stance just in time as one hand flew out of nowhere to distract him, and the other, fingers outstretched, reached for his neck, jabbing him in the side._SHIT. _Cloud immediately reacted and threw himself to the ground, his body now crouching low, animal-like. He could feel the process already. _Dammit…_Zhao had hit a vital receptor in his neck precisely. This action caused his body to send signals to lower his blood pressure, his breathing became shallower; _this was just to slow me down_. Quickly, a few seconds from throwing himself to the mat, he got up, forcing himself to control his body, which at the moment, was a losing battle. _Come ON. _He forced himself. Trying harder to suffocate the oncoming dizziness. _This guy was good. _Closing his eyes momentarily he focussed hard, knowing the time had come to up his game…he had taken too many hits and delivered fewer. To any onlookers, this little moment of Cloud's was missed, but for Cloud, it felt that it was taking an eternity. He didn't think he needed to go this far. _Not with this skinny shit anyway._ Harnessing his strength, and the remnants of the mysterious Mako energy he had in his body, he opened his eyes.

Green. _Bingo._

Jay Zhao was collecting his breath by the corner. The crowd was deafening for him, but he knew when he hit the jackpot as Cloud crouched. He waited till the jab effects took its toll, he enjoyed this part…watching his enemy slowly deteriorate. But the last thing he was ready for, was for Cloud Strife to get up so quickly, and lock his eyes on his. Zhao could feel something change in the air, and it was as if the crowd did too as it silenced. The air became hot and sticky as he stared into the green pair of eyes. _Green? _Zhao's eyes widened considerably. _What the hell was going on?_

A devilish smile broke out onto Cloud's perfect face, distorting it so. His eyes still trained on Zhao's. Rolling his shoulders back, he laughed. And it sounded dangerous. Swiftly he somehow glided to Zhao without him noticing even a twitch of Cloud's muscle, and grasped him by the neck. Holding the opponent a foot off the ground. Zhao tried to fight back, but he found that he couldn't move. In his head he was screaming to his muscles, but it was in vain. He just_couldn't _move. He saw Cloud's mouth open, and he strained his ears to hear, "I've played fair for too long, little boy. Pray you'll die quickly." Zhao screamed but nothing came out as Cloud's free fist collided with his head, snapping his neck to the side, but done so it wasn't forceful enough to break it. Still holding him in the air, Cloud launched another tight fist at his adversary's stomach, knocking the air clean from him. The younger, fell to the floor, still strangely unable to move. _This couldn't be happening! _He thought desperately, finding his voice, "Please…pl-" he croaked. But it was too late. As the last thing he saw was Cloud's foot colliding down on his neck.

The crowd, once again, went _wild. _Cloud punched a fist in the air. His eyes smoothly changing back to that infamous, icy blue.

* * *

"Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifaaaaaaaaaa!" Yuffie wailed from one of the couches in the living room. Tifa sighed, _what now? _And trudged to where Yuffie was, laptop resting on her crossed legs.

"What's up Yuffie?"

"OHMYGOD, you'd never guess!" she stopped, and waited expectedly.

Tifa honestly _couldn't be arsed. _Knowing her friend was waiting for her, she stabbed at a wild guess, "Erm…is it something to do with Cloud Strife?"

"I SWEAR! We have some next level telepathic stuff going on!" She grinned excitedly.

Tifa rolled her eyes, she should've guessed. "Go on…"

"Well you know Cloud-_sex_-god supports FC Tokyo, and is _always _at their matches…right?"

Tifa just nodded…_what the…_

"Well basically the really _weird_ thing is that he wasn't there yesterday…and that match was on Wednesday, which is odd as they're usually on a Saturday…"

Ahh, something which Tifa did realise…the match being on an odd day that is.

"…so what the HELL was he doing huh?"

Tifa rolled her eyes, _this girl had problems. _"Don't ask me Yuffie! And anyway…does it really matter?"

"YES! This site…"

"What site?" she raised a brow.

"Oh…erm…aha…"

Sensing her too obvious discomfort Tifa reached for the laptop, only to have it quickly snatch further away from her. This only heightened her curiosity, "Yuffie…give me the laptop."

"No…" her voice calm and collected.

"Yuffie…what are you hiding?" she could feel her sisterly chiding getting ready to escape.

"Nothing Tifa! Honestly…nothing…you know…"

"Yuffie, keep digging." Her voice still an odd freaky calm.

"But!" She spotted Tifa's glare, sighing in defeat she slid the laptop to her direction.

Tifa scanned her eyes over the website, and saw a plain Google search page open. Looking to the toolbar at the bottom she found it, the site name was: xXxCloudxXx.

"Yuffie, I'm not a complete idiot go to that page."

Laughing uneasily she flicked it open, and shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see the appalled look on Tifa's face. Which did come. As the elder of the two looked upon the screen, her jaw dropped. The tagline for the site was: "Are you a young (maybe not…) stalker of the sexy beast Cloud Strife? If so, then this site is for you! Pictures updated daily!" Blinking again, she read it over again, _Yuffie spends her time on THIS! I knew she was _obsessed _but this…this is wrong…so wrong! _Tifa hated the man, that much she could admit, but he did need some sort of privacy, and as she scanned the pictures beneath, she figured privacy was something he did _not_ have.

Taglines of pictures: "Cloud eating breakfast!" – "Cloud taking a dip…oooh steamy" – "Cloud TOPLESS OMG!" – "Cloud taking a dump…god only he can make it look sexy."

At the last one Tifa couldn't help but laugh, until the look on Yuffie's face shut her up. It was serious.

"Don't laugh at Cloud!"

"First name terms are we?"

Yuffie blushed. And Tifa felt a lecture coming on.

"Yuffie Kisaragi!" Yuffie flinched. "…you are 17 years old and you spend you time on these sites? This is…just wrong Yuffie! I am paying the telephone bill for this shit?" Yuffie knew this was coming, so she put on her best puppy dog face.

"Tif…I was just curious. I don't usually go on this! I just wanted to surf the net for a while…ok…I'm sorry Tif." She stared up at her.

Tifa groaned. _Gargh she always knows what to pull, how can I say no to that adorable little face of hers…_

Yuffie smirked inwardly; she could tell she was going to break.

"Fine Yuffie, what did he do last week?"

She commenced, working around the site expertly Tifa noticed for someone who just wanted to "surf the net".

* * *

A/N: HEY GUYS! So sorry this took long but I'm having exams and stuff! GCSE's :( Shouldn't even be writing this to be honest...but oh well...couldn't help myself. ANYWAY I really hope you enjoy this chap...kinda fun to write actually :) And stuff should've all been cleared up by now :)

OH AND, thank you SO much to:

**Smiley10111-EmileeElectro-Erianna Abyss-Dark Mousy-Karma -Chaotic Symphony-AshAi-Ch0k-naT-Toons-macalaniaprincess**

For reviewing so far :). Makes me happpyyy :D

take care guys

xXx


	4. Bridging Those Gaps

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Disclaimer:...what do you think?!

* * *

"What the fuck were you trying to achieve by killing the boy Strife?!" The old man was furious, the dim lighting strangely accentuating how flushed he was.

"So what? One less for you to worry about in your 'war'."

"Strife-"

"Listen, I did my job, just give me the money."

Running a hand frustratingly through his hair, the old man closed his eyes and calmed his irregular breathing pattern. "Fine. It will be wired to yours and Zack's account."

"Good." With that, Cloud turned, making his way back to the door. Pushing it open, light drenched in, his figure a disappearing silhouette until,

"Cloud…"

He paused, twisting his head he inclined he was still listening.

"Don't _ever_, talk back at me again."

The door slammed shut.

* * *

The brunette made her way out of the cheesecake shop, an obvious spring evident in her step.

She had just been fired today.

And_ by-god _she was grateful. She had hated that match-making service Yuffie had so kindly forced her into, saying; _she may as well get a job as customers were sparse during the day._ She even said the pay was good! The pay was _SHIT. _Anyway, that's besides the point; Tifa Lockhart a consultant on _LOVE?!_ She shook her head, an incredulous look plastered on her face as she walked down the street, earning her a few odd glances from passers-by. _What were "The Great Ninja's" words exactly? Oh yeah…_

"_If you can't do, COACH!"_

_Bitch._

Tifa came to a stop by her car. Clutching her "Bag of Heaven" in one hand, she fumbled around with the other, trying to find her keys. She was halfway through rummaging in her large handbag when…_Poke! _She froze. Eyes widening she contemplated whether she should turn slowly or quickly, throwing a well powered punch her harasser's way. _Ah, what the hell, they'd meet their doom either way…_so slowly she twisted her head round, the rest of her body still, yet poised, her right arm muscles invisibly tensed (cheesecake in the left). However, as she turned, she spotted the ends of dark, ridiculously angled hair. _That hair…So familiar…It's not everyday you find hair like that…_Hit with a sense of déjà vu and intense curiosity she dropped her defenses, (and her cheesecake bag) spun fully around, and studied the man - _an incredibly gorgeous man at that - _more closely. Luckily for her the familiar man didn't move to attack her in the slightest as she grazed her eyes over him, in fact, he openly started laughing _at _her. Right in the face! _What the…_Frowning, she looked up to stare at him, trying to impose herself, gathering as much height she could, but just as she began to open her mouth to form some sort of verbal attack he focused his eyes directly on hers. She was mesmerized. The swirling depths of beautiful dark blue, tinged with gray, took her breath away. _Oh…_

He smiled. He recognised her immediately from the way she was literally skipping down the street, brown paper bag in hand. _She always loved cheesecake. _And it wasn't his fault he burst out laughing! That look on her still pretty-as-ever face was _priceless. Aww, my little deer caught in the headlights._

"Tifa Lockhart. My, hasn't it been long?"

"I'm sorry, but how the hell do you kn-"

He could tell that typical quick-fire anger of hers was building rapidly and decided to quench it, "Zack. Zack Fair."

With that he heard her suck in a breath and study him yet again. In a flash, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Zack…is it really you?! Oh whoa, it's been what…3 years?!"

She parted from him, allowing him to breathe. "The one and only, why, how could you forget this face? Plus, I'd hope you wouldn't hug any random person who announced they were me…"

"Still an egotistical jerk…shame. Those looks could've really been used for something worthwhile if you had half a brain." The both laughed.

"And you still use that witty mouth of yours, shame _that _couldn't have been put to better use."

Tifa sent him a glare and lightly swatted him round the head. Laughing again, Zack grabbed her dropped bag and her arm, linking it through his. _They both needed to catch up!_

* * *

"Do you remember our first date? WHAT a tragedy!"

"Oh god, I can still remember the pie flying in from the corner of my eye and slapping you right on the face! Timeless Zack, timeless." Tifa erupted in fits of laughter, after trying so desperately to keep a poker face.

They both sat, side by side on a park bench. His arm was slung to rest on the back, behind her body. He could feel her emanate a comforting warmth. Gazing at her, he noticed how her hair was cut from the waist-length style she donned before, to a shorter, shoulder blade, choppier version. _It suits her, _he thought. They both fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the company of each other. He liked the fact that she didn't plaster her face in make-up then, as so many teenage girls at their school did at the time, and he was happy to see that she didn't now. Simple yet effective eye _stuff…_His gaze trailed over the rest of her body, she was oblivious to it all. Tifa, at sixteen was definitely a sight to behold. She had _matured _a lot earlier compared to most of her friends (she seemed to be friends with everyone) and had obviously caught the sights of the whole young male population at their school, _actually…all of the men…_Zack winced. He swore there were a few too many lingering gazes on her by the teachers too. And as usual in high schools, by some clichéd fate, he, - _being the popular, gorgeous…ahem_ - well being _him_, and her being _her, _were cruelly pushed together. Why cruelly? Well, being a couple just didn't suit them. If anything, it brought more heartache than what's healthy. They were too different, perhaps he being two years older affected that, but anyway, friendship definitely suited them more. And so, after a lot of hard work, they were able to repair the damage caused by breaking up, and from those mended bridges a beautiful friendship was resurrected. However, fate, as unpredictable as ever was malicious yet again. Tifa's father died, and she could no longer afford to attend the college of her dreams, and so, just like that, she up and left. _She was a bright spark…_ Zack sighed, and Tifa shifted her gaze on him, a small unsure smile on her face.

"I'm so glad we met Zack." She lifted her hand, and placed it on his which was resting on his lap.

"What happened Tifa?"

The question…she knew it was coming, yet it still unnerved her. She never forgot the day she left her past. Her school. Her friends. _Him. _Mustering all her inner strength she answered, "After Dad died…I just didn't know what to do. Do you know what that feels like?" He shook his head. "Well…it's crippling Zack. It was as if I lost my future…my destiny. I don't know quite how to put it into words, but God forbid you ever have to go through that. If anyone, you don't deserve that. Anyway…I was lost. So I had to just go and _find_ myself. That meant I had to leave. Why didn't I say goodbye?"

"Tifa you don't have to explain…I understand…" He could see the tears she was straining not to shed. He couldn't let her cry…_not again. _

"No Zack." She squeezed his hand. "I have to."

He took his arm from behind her and wrapped it around her shoulders, he now radiating his warmth to her.

"Well…I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye, because I was scared. Scared that if I saw you again…I wouldn't have the guts to go. And anyway…the last thing I wanted was pity. I'm so sorry Zack. I'm so sorry…"

He took her face, and dried the tears she shed with his thumbs.

"Don't be."

A beautiful, true smile blossomed on her face.

* * *

After consoling her, and once again re-bridging the gap between them he took her to one of his favourite cafés for coffee. Thankfully she had calmed. Seeing her cry had hurt him. Tifa Lockhart was never one to cry, and knowing he had caused her pain countless times before had only come back and shoved a grenade up his arse now. Let's say, Tifa was too _innocent_ for him back then. And he, well he was too thick in the head to realize how lucky he was. He had a "playboy" status for a reason. It must have been about 13 girls he had cheated on her with…_wow, I think that grenade shoved itself even higher…ow._

"So tell me, Zack." His name rolled off her tongue with a hint of playfulness. She bit her lip and twiddled a bit of her hair round her finger, "At University now right?"

He laughed. Trust Tifa to put up a bold front, although he wished she didn't, especially in front of him. "Are you _flirting _with me Tifa?" he smirked.

She beamed. "Nooo Zack, we've already gone down that road remember…and if I recall correctly, it didn't all end in rainbows and butterflies. Am I right?"

His smile dropped immediately. He knew before they had agreed to take what happened with a pinch of salt and move on, yet he couldn't help but feel undeniably guilty. Who wouldn't? _I really was a piece of shit…doubtlessly still am._

"Zack, listen don't worry about that. There is not enough time in the world to dwell on the past. Anyway so tell me, what are you up to now?!"

"Ok, well…actually…I didn't quite make it at University…"

"What?! How come?"

"Well its not like I failed the exams, just a job prospect popped up beforehand, and well…you could say I would've been an idiot if I refused to take it."

"Oh…so milking it in now are you? Lucky bastard! You'd probably have the high life before you reach 30!" She grinned.

He loved her smile. It wasn't fake and tainted.

"Actually Miss Lockhart, I'm doing quite well right now."

"WHAT! At 21? Are you serious?! You really are a lucky bastard!"

"Excuse me; I don't think this face," he used his hand to indicate, "…deserves your verbal abuse."

"Ok, joking aside Zack…tell where the hell is the justice in world? You've got it all, and me, obviously being the smarter in school," he frowned at this then quirked a brow, she just laughed, "is out of a day job! Tell me, just _where_ is the justice?!"

"Day job?"

"Oh, I work at a bar during the nights."

"A bar? Tifa are you sure that's appropriate? I hope you wear suitable clothes…"

"Zack, I do not need you to lecture me, I am old enough to take care of myself!"

"19 is hardly 'grown up' Tifa, but ok fine. Motherly tendencies aside, where is this bar? What's its name? Who's the manager? It's not in a rough area right? You better not get molested-"

"Zack! It's harassed for a woman my age."

"Woman…sweetheart you're only 19 as I said before, still in those infamous teen years…hardly a woman!"

"OI!" She stood up, a determined look on her face and waved a hand across her body, "You call _this_ not womanly, hmm?"

A plate dropped, and room became silent. A lone man from across the room wolf whistled and shouted, "Mate, if she's not yours I'll be more than willing to-"

"Fuck off!" yelled Zack. He too got up and dragged Tifa back to her seat, his anger subsiding after seeing her satisfied smile.

"Bitch. You know how protective I am of you."

"Just like the old days." She smile widening, showing her white teeth cheekily.

Tifa at nineteen…_Jesus Christ. _

* * *

AN: Well guys I'm sorry yet again for the long wait, but GCSEs are STRESSING ME OUT! Eugh...should really be revising. ALSO this trouble with Ronaldo at ManU (I support them :D) and Real is only adding to that stress! One could say, Ele is not a happy bunny. Nuh-uh. ANYWAY back to the fic, thank you all for reviewing the previous chapter! Reviews mean everything :) and I thoroughly appreciate them! (Hint.hint) Anyway...I'm confused as ever with this fic...I know where it's going...and trust me, there is a **_LOT _**of drama ahead, but I don't know whether readers would mind it going very deep, touching on sensitive issues and the like. Which in turn means it's going to be quite long...so feedback would be grateful!

ALSO, this is **_NOT _**a ZackxTifa fic...(for all those who were put off by their interaction in this chap) it's just that I wanted to show that _they _have had a past (not the typical Cloud-Tifa past). This somewhat solidifies their friendship in the upcoming chaps. ALSO I PROMISE there **will** be Cloud Tifa interaction in the next chap...I'm sorry this has taken so long...I wanted the scene set perfectly. I hope you can bare with me :)

Take care guys! xXx

* * *


	5. Cool Lattés

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Disclaimer: :( I own nonthing...apart from the story :)

* * *

**-Tifa: Future-**

_**Envy. Gluttony. Vanity. Greed. Wrath. Lust. Love. Pain. **__– Every one has effected me. _

_Don't get me wrong, I am no angel and I really don't want any pity. Do you know why? Because in the end I survived, I live my life now even if I had to give up something which, for many people is their reason for living: the belief in love. _

_**Love. **_

_This, for me, comes in two different forms; it could be the: I-would-throw-myself-off-a-cliff-for-Yuffie, or any other of my close and most treasured friends. The other…well, I've always found it difficult to put into words. It's…it's devastating. I do believe that love is strong, I do believe that love is something which makes you happy, but I've lost the belief that love can survive everything. Why? Because you have to fight for your love, every second, to every minute, to every month to year, but how can you do that if after a while, there is no strength left for fighting? If this love is the reason why you slowly destroy yourself, why risk losing your soul too? _

* * *

"The light's green you son of a bitch!"

A little like an angry gorilla on crack she let out a horrendous growl and drilling her thumb into the horn button she urged her car to reciprocate her anger for the umpteenth time, however, as quickly as she was satisfied by the initial loud bellow the car let loose, she was dismayed twice as quick, as it soon started to splutter and die, until all it was spitting out was deranged squawks which sounded like a constipated pigeon.

_Now that insolent piece of shit has messed up my car! My poor baby…_

_That's it! _She had it up to her eyeballs. She had shouted (windows open and all). Screamed. Thumped out her horn until it _actually died. _Swore till her hearts content and sat through five green lights and this shit still hadn't moved! At first she had thought it was innocent, perhaps the driver had bent down to reach something, but after the third green light she thought something terrible occurred like a heart attack, but those pessimistic ideas were thrown out the window once she saw the silhouetted movements of two people, and what looked like, in some sort of passionate frenzy. _Jesus, rather the idiot DIED! Can't they do this somewhere ELSE and not on some one way road?! _She was making it very obvious that she was behind, in a _car_, so really, any excuse was furtile. _Bloody hell, _she had discerned_, it's time for some physical action!_

Eyes bulging she let out a warrior roar to boost her confidence and quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and flung the door open.

The first few steps of marching up towards the pristine Aston Martin did nothing to drain her of her inner strength however, it was five steps into the mission when she realised the situation had _definitely _gone awry.

_Blink. _

No, really…

She shut her eyes, slapped herself a couple of times and cautiously reopened her eyes.

_Oh. Fuck. No. _

If she had any less self control, Tifa would've screamed.

* * *

**-Tifa: Future-**

_Dreams, the penumbra of sleep, where the realms of the conscious and unconscious meet. Do you dream? I do…but what are they exactly? Are they just figments of our unconscious imagination, or are they visions of our real, true, wants and needs? Well, let me tell you this: dreams can turn into nightmares, into a never ending chasm which always causes happiness first, creating a perfect façade, and then it suddenly morphs into a chaos of feelings which can eat you alive. Dreams can be beautiful, that's great, but dreams should sometimes stay just dreams as the pain which you inevitably face whilst realizing they are not picture perfect could control your life and blind you. And in the end the dream, the living of your dream, could lead you to do the biggest mistake in your life._

* * *

The car was shaking. Seriously, side to side movement. And the windows were beginning to steam up. Tifa could only stand and stare. All sense of direction and place escaped her as the reality of the situation dawned on her.

…

…_The…_

…_Wha…N…EH?!_

_Now you know when you are so upset you can't seem to utter a coherent sentence? Well, that was it._

Apoplectic with rage she tried to gain control of her waterlogged brain.

_THE AUDACITY! _She screamed, albeit inwardly, the process of converting electrical impulses into sound hadn't quite been regained yet. Chest heaving with frustration she ran back to her Mini, grabbed her still now cool latté and stomped her way to the Aston. _That bastard is going down!_

She reached the driver side of the car and praying to god she hoped that it was unlocked. Weapon equipped in one hand, the other braced on the handle, she wrenched as hard as she could. The door, to her amazement sprung open - _Muaha so much for posh cars and automatic locking systems! _– exposing yours truly, she found the woman straddled on the man's lap, both astounded like hell and very out of breath, no doubt due to their…exertions. After a couple of unmovable seconds they suddenly sprung apart as if some higher being had pressed play on a paused porn flick gone wrong. The woman, shrieking, attempted (in vain) to cover as much as she could with her skinny arms. Wasting as little time this opportunity posed as she could, she uncapped the lid of her coffee with her thumb and flung the contents onto the couple, most of which landed on the driver's side, in which resided the male counterpart. Trying her best not to stare at the exposed flesh of the woman, who was now trying to put on the rest of her clothes, which Tifa noted disgustedly, there weren't much of in the first place, she tried to voice an explanation.

"You see this road? ONE WAY! You see this light? GREEN YOU FUCKERS!"

-_Oh-ho the irony- _

"And you see this?" She pointed to the couple, whose mouths were gaping like fish and fixed her best glare, "THIS IS JUST NOT DONE IN THESE CONDITIONS!"

Moving her raged view to the man she was horrified to see him still uncovered to the world and to top that off, _smirking! The ATROSCITY! What the hell was the world coming to?!_ Now the one looking like a fish, Tifa tore her eyes off the man's family jewels, which to add to her horror, was still up for duty and raring to go, the cold shower proving fruitless. She forced herself to look anywhere but there, her eyes glazed.

The man spoke, "So you're saying that this could be done in any other situation?"

If possible, her jaw dropped lower and she focused on his face. Something about him seemed strikingly familiar, but as she looked closer into those plain brown eyes that were dancing with mirth she realized that he was wearing contacts. _Contacts?_ Staring a little deeper she saw the remnants of lush blue peeking out from under the plastic film. Suddenly, as if he was only stalling by not really _looking_ back into her, he did exactly that. His eyes, Tifa established, were hypnotic, and she was soon finding herself somehow cornered as the mirth was dropped from them, and was replaced by something that even penetrated through the contacts, something much more intense. Out in the open air, in the middle of Tokyo, Tifa Lockhart was starting to feel very claustrophobic. Deciding this was neither time nor place to be staring into stranger's eyes, and with the remaining brain function she had left, she ran. Literally upped and went. And as she tore down the street she forgot all about her unlocked and opened door Mini, she just needed to get out.

And all she could see was those eyes.

The man felt smug as he felt the woman submitting to him, he_ knew _he was just _too damn good. _But, to his surprise, something unexpected happened…she looked away and ran. _Just like that!_ And strangely, as many things didn't, it left him feeling a little perturbed. Frowning he glanced over at his partner in the car, whom which had sticky coffee that matted her hair and smudged her makeup, and now seemed more of a turn off than anything.

"Get out."

She froze, astonished. "What? I don't think I heard you right baby, did you say-"

"That's exactly what I said. Now get out" The tone itself screamed authority and the woman knew better than to answer back, and so she opened the door with visible chagrin and hobbled away on her viciously high heels. Her curses could be heard over one hundred meters away.

Sighing Cloud Strife rolled his head, clicking his neck in a few places he threw it hard against the headrest and looked down. Thankfully_, it _had subsided and so he reached for his boxers and trousers. It was only when he pulled both items up in one go that he realized his €1000 white Valentino slacks were completely covered with suspicious brown stains.

"NO FUCKING WAY!"

* * *

Tifa reached Zack's apartment at around 3p.m. the same afternoon as the incident with the Aston guy (as she appropriately named him), the same afternoon she ran from her car leaving it unlocked and _open_, the same day she went back to find it miraculously unharmed and with no clamp in sight, the same day she missed her only job interview because of Aston guy…_that bastard! _So the gods we both smiling and pissing on her…_lovely._

_Knock._

No answer…_that's strange, he said he would be here…_

Placing an ear to the door she concentrated on any hint of life behind it, and needless to say she could hear somewhat violent crashes and hushed whispers.

_Eh? What the hell…_

She knocked again, at the same time shouting, "Zack? What the hell is going on in there? Open up!"

She replaced her ear to the door to find that the whispers had ascended in volume, she could make out a couple strings of curses followed by numerous voices…of both genders…_just what was going on?!_

Out of the blue the door was opened, and caught unawares, Tifa haphazardly stumbled in, which earnt Zack a murderous glare.

"What's going on? You look shifty…" Yes, the way Zack was avoiding her gaze and staring at the floor whilst scratching one arm was definitely what you'd call…shifty.

"Tif…I just didn't expect you so early! You see I was cooking and like…yeh…I couldn't get to the door on time…my bad!" He stroke a pose, teeth gleaming in a strained smile and a quivering hand in a thumbs up signal, in a vain effort to prevent the worse. _Damage control was key _he thought to himself_. _Tifa wasn't stupid, she walked over to the kitchen to find it in pristine condition, not spec of oil or dirty dish was to be found.

"Zack, don't pull that shit with me! Who's in here?"

"Tifa! Why would you think anyone was _here_?! There's no women or anyth-"

"I never said anything about women Zack." She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You know, if this is a bad time, I'll just come back later ok?"

"No, nono, seriously I have nothing to hide! Absolutely-"

_CRASH_

Worried, Tifa ran to the source of the disturbance, a door to the left, and with urgency ripped it open. And _surprise, surprise, _out popped four scantily clad, super made up, incredibly voluptuous she was positive they all couldn't be real, women.

Turning back to Zack she murmured with as much control as she could muster, "You _sure _this isn't a bad time?"

After Zack kindly albeit regrettably hurried the hookers out of the apartment he nervously edged back in, racking his head to find an excuse that would at least lessen the blow, the girl had a killer left hook.

"It wasn't my fault!" he started, as if to vindicate himself, "Someone…no…one of my friends" –he nervously gave a suspicious sidelong glance to another door on the right- "Called them over…I'm really sorry Tif, I honestly didn't know…you know I would never do such a thing if you were gonna come."

"And you would if I wasn't?"

"I'm a man Tifa-"

"Sure about that?!"

He ignored her gibe, "A man with needs…"

"Obviously a man with needs and no self control! What happened to love? What happened to the beauty of an honest relationship, huh?" Getting up from the sofa she marched up to him and swiftly dealt him a killer blow to the pit of his stomach, winding him instantly as he crumpled to the floor.

"Wha…what the…je-jesus Ti-…fa"

"_That_, should teach you not to hang with whores a-"

"WHAT THE FUCK, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

_What?! _Did she hear right? A third voice…in the apartment? Unmistakeably male, the low tenor had sent a shiver up her spine, temporarily stunning her. _Don't tell me, Zack's into ORGYS?! _Taking a deep breath, she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and cautiously turned around, only to be met with a fully clothed _(thank god) _yet angry blonde man. Taking a closer look she found him strangely familiar…_where did I seem him last? _

It dawned on him first.

"Its _YOU_!"

"Me?" Now she was really confused.

"YES! That bitch that fucked over my valentinos!"

Her mouth hung open at the, what she felt, completely underhanded insult thrown unceremoniously at her. She felt her anger rise she clenched her fists, knuckles whitening, "That _bitch._ Who the hell are you calling a _bitch_?! Do I even know you, you piece of-"

"Wench-" He was visibly seething. That face still seemed oddly familiar to her. He took a couple of slow, timed, steps towards her. She took the opportunity to stare unabashedly and came to the conclusion that if he wasn't so angry and his face didn't distort like so, he could be really rather attractive with that eye catching gravity defying hair, and those beautiful, _seriously stunning_, blue-as-the-ocean like eyes, which were starting to make her feel a little hot, a little heavy, a little…_claustrophobic, anyone?_

_Oh shit._

Reaching her, he grabbed Tifa by the collar of her hoodie and slammed her against the wall. As he pushed his body in her smaller, softer one, she felt as if she could literally _feel_ his anger through his _very (she would've drooled if the situation wasn't so…tense) _muscular form.

"You're the one who threw coffee all over my 1000 Euro slacks, YOU'RE the one who fucked up the leather in my Aston, and_ YOU'RE _the one who stared till your hearts content at my-"

"Let her go, Cloud. Now." The voice dripped venom.

Twisting around Cloud uncompressed himself from Tifa's body and faced Zack, his one hand though still had her up against the wall.

Zack just gave him a meaningful icy stare and Cloud dropped her to the floor.

It was then that said Cloud spun on his heels and left the apartment, and Tifa escaped her daze.

_Strife? Cloud? No way…if couldn't be…_

_Inner genius of Tifa: Well how many people do you know with the name Cloud?_

_No…way...but he has infamous blue...the brown…oh…_contacts_…dammit!_

"Seems like you've made an impression on our dear Cloud Strife." The punch forgotten, Zack smirked.

That, to Tifa, was the killer blow. _CLOUD STRIFE! _She was screaming inwardly as she realised the immensity of both her actions and the consequences which would inevitably follow. _Shit. Shit. SHIT. SHITFUCK!_

"THE PERVERT!"

Zack could always read the emotions on Tifa's face, and what he saw at this present moment, amused him greatly. _Just what did conspire between the two? _He was going to find out.

"So Tif…what exactly were you, staring with your hearts content at, hmm?"

Mortified, she slid further down the wall, burying her face in her hands. He on the other hand, erupted into deep laughter.

* * *

"Yuffie…" Tifa mumbled, whilst serving a patron a bloody mary.

"Yeah?"

"err," Tifa gathered up the courage.

"Listen, I know you've been hiding something, so spit it out." Yuffie raised a brow.

Tifa turned away, taking a deep breath, "So…err, _hypothetically_, what would you…you know, say if I told you…I met Cloud Strife…spilled coffee on him…ruined his very expensive trousers…and was thrown against a wall by him?" She closed her eyes hard, waiting for the crazy reaction she expected, however she felt the last point should've at least acted as a dampener on the situation.

Silence

_Where was the plate smashing? The screaming? Where was the ludicrous jumping up and down whilst pulling her hair out? There should be something, anything! _

Silence

Tifa was getting a little desperate now.

She turned to face Yuffie, watching her serve a drink. Yuffie glanced back, a sickly sweet smile adorned on her face "I'd kill you."

"Oh…aha." Tifa gave an uneasy smile, and snapped back around, furiously concentrating on the dirty glasses that needed washing.

Yuffie cocked her head, examining Tifa until, she froze, eyes threatening to fall out from her sockets, "OH FUCK!"

The previous low mutterings of the bar went completely numb, the silence was painful, and focused on the two.

"Yuffie-"

"YOU'RE SERIOUS AREN'T YOU?!" Yuffie's eyes grew to an even more incredulous size when Tifa didn't reply. _Any more and POP, out they'd go_, thought Tifa.

And with that, she subsequently fainted.

* * *

A/N: HEY GUYS! So sorry for the extra long wait this time, but I've just come back from a short holiday in Malaysia (:D) so I haven't had time to write, let alone update! Anyway I've tried to answer your calls as soon as I could, and plus I've written an extra LONG chapter! The JOY :D

Right, now with this chap there are a few things to say…firstly these little 'anecdote' like entries are there for references to Tifa's thoughts but _**in the future**_. Also, I know it's a bit of an. That's the key point guys odd kinda addition so I'm sorry if some of you guys didn't like it as it may be too sentimental, and felt it was too isolated, but this fic isn't meant to be all happy-happy, (as you can probably tell by the tone) so yeh…it definitely won't come in every chapter…unless people like the idea.

Another thing…THEY FINALLY MET! And possibly not in the way most of you guys expected! Naughty, naughty Cloud! However, as you may be able to tell, no they're not gonna instantly fall in love…cos hell, the best part's the chase isn't it!! So get ready for one hell of a ride

Reviews would be greatly appreciated…it's my drug ;).

xXx

* * *


	6. Wingless

* * *

Disclaimer: Nope...I own none of it :(

* * *

"Excuse me, Miss, would you like anything?"

The alluring, rich timbre the masculine voice held pulled her from her dreamless nap, she pushed herself up on one elbow, using the other arm to tip her sunhat away from her eyes allowing the beautiful red rays of sunset to flood her vision. Shifting a little she focused on the_ absurdly delicious _man in front of her..._hell yeah, wouldn't mind __**you **__to come over here and use those large supple hands to__**...**__err...just__** what**__ was the question again?_

Realising she was openly staring at him, she quickly reigned in her actions,

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Erm...Miss, a drink?"

"Oh! Right...erm...well...err" her eyes drifted down to the opened buttons of his shirt, and the mouth watering bronze flesh on show, biting her lip she let out a rye laugh, her voice surprisingly forming a sexy drawl,

"Vodka martini, please."

The waiter bowed with a flourish and strolled barefoot through the sand towards the bar. After watching him go, (consisted of craning her neck to stare at his taught derrière), Tifa flopped back down onto the sun-bed basking in the humid air that gently lulled her senses.

A_hhh, heaven..._

_

* * *

_

It was that moment in which her chin slipped off the knuckles which supported her, and her body unceremoniously followed, rendering her to an tangled mess of limbs on the bar floor. Letting loose a low groan she gradually forced herself up onto her knees, running a hand through her hair, _get a grip Tifa!_ She had had a long night just previously, and had to wake up early courtesy á la Zack. _A house call..._and he evaded answering her question of: _Why?!_ It's not as if he needed to really invite her (Although after the last visit's disastrous results, perhaps an invitation wasn't necessarily a 'bad' thing)...but he had sounded shifty enough to spur the blossoming of suspicion deep in her belly.

Frowning for _another_ time in the space of two hours, she pulled herself up to her full height and checked the clock. She had three more hours to get this place cleaned to Barret's ridiculously high standards. _Come on!_

* * *

The stench of freshly spilled blood was unmistakable and he licked his lips a little in anticipation. Green eyes (long since activated thanks to a quick, clean clash with an _unarmed _mercenary) glinted eerily in the moonlight casting a glance this way and that, _the_ _night really was beautiful..._he loved the darkness with its exceptional ability to shroud nearly every sin committed by man in mystery and confusion, and in his case_...__**every**__ one of his sins._ Well, just the more _serious_ ones.

Stealthily he crouched low by an open door, which led to none other than a home chapel of sorts. Snarling in disgust, he spat at the entrance, religion never did sit well with this employee, it was _filthy and misleading...only used as a source of control, _and boy did this man _hate_ being controlled. However, taking (albeit reluctantly) a closer look inside, he spotted a figure, kneeling before the idol, the moonlight illuminating both him and room, giving everything an almost ethereal glow. The image was strangely serene, and the man at the door had to pause for a moment, feeling an unfamiliar sense of peace wash over him, but the sensation was over in seconds and after collecting himself, immediately stalked towards his prey. On the other hand the man inside had already felt the intruder's presence, hell he was _expecting_ him. It was no use to hide, if his suspicions were correct then the man knew that this hunter was relentless, and found _anyone and everyone. _How the fuck he had gotten in so efficiently though, especially how he had put up numerous extra defences after hearing he was on _the list _just days before_, _it was a surprise even to him. It seemed the Yakuza had sent their best, and if anything he was intrigued to finally meet him. Meet _the_ Wingless. The one, the only. He had time to damn his guards in hell, because he was fucking sure that was where he and they were all heading. A glint caught the prey's eyes, and he twisted his head to the side a little, only to be met by the glowing edge of a large sword less than a breath away from his eyes. _Tsurugi. _It broke him from his thoughts, and all of a sudden the imminent death which lay before him seemed almost tragic, and...Dare he say it? – _Terrifying...ha, seemed like death finally brought out the inner pussy in him. _

He was beginning to palpitate, and his breathing became shallow, but he found the strength to pull his voice together, for what he_ knew_ would be the last time.

"Are you Wingless?"

"Yes."

His heart began to throb horribly in his chest, suspicions confirmed. _Well at least I died in the hands of a legend. _It wasn't much, but it was the best consolation he could come up with, he knew he deserved his death; he had done too many dirty, _filthy_ things. And he knew that with everything, every murder, rape, sin he assigned, there came a price, all his kind had to pay.

Then, suddenly, a split second after hearing the dreaded _swish_ of the blade, the world became black. And the prey was no more.

The hunter left as quickly, and as quietly as he came.

* * *

"Zack?"

"I'm round the corner."

With a push, he set off towards the end of the block where he spotted Zack's car. Once inside he took out Tsurugi, grabbed a cloth which he had left in the car minutes before, and began the meticulous cleaning regime he went through after every assassination. The order and precision in which he cleaned seemed to be the only thing which kept him sane right after he did it. Oh yeah, he sinned alright.

* * *

Dressed casually in an over-sized hoody and leggings, she rang the bell. Unintentionally holding her breath. A warm rush of air greeted her as the door swung open, a grinning Zack in her wake; however she did notice the slight forcefulness of the smile, and the tightness around his eyes. _What's going on?_

"Come in Teef!"

_Teef?! Eugh he hasn't called me that in years...now I definitely know something is going down. _However she decided to play it out a little more, and decided against asking him about what the hell was up, and instead walked past him and inside.

It was a beautiful day outside, and she loved the sun and the colours it brought into the world, so she made a beeline towards his floor-to-ceiling _gigantic_ windows which spanned his open plan living/dining so one could view the whole cityscape. Giggling in pleasure she turned to face him, beckoning him over,

"Damn, I could never tire of this...don't you _love_-" Someone laughed, and it wasn't her or Zack..._Huh? _She kept silent for a moment longer, she felt Zack stiffen by her side.

_There! _A voice, yes...she could hear a voice to her left, distinctly masculine, its low timbre strikingly familiar, and whoever it was let loose another rumble from the diaphragm.

"Is someone here? I'm not deaf Zack, and whoever that is, is hardly being inconspicuous, I thought it was just me, do you have company?" She didn't mean to pry, but he hadn't said anything about company, and she was _hardly dressed!_

"Oooh Tifa, long word..." He followed with a too obvious fake laugh which ended prematurely, resulting in him reaching back and scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't you dare try and change the subject!"

He shifted uncomfortably under her sharp gaze, "Oh...well...it's erm, only Cloud."

_Cloud? _As realisation dawned on her face, her eyes shimmered for a split second in fear,

"Um...perhaps I should...you know, leave..._now_."

There was a creak in the floorboards,

"I hardly think that is necessary." The words were said in a low drawl from somewhere behind her and it immediately sent shivers down her spine. Gulping, she pivoted ever so slowly, and once she looked up, those damned ice blue orbs locked onto hers, and she couldn't help but feel chilled, she had to look away.

"So, why did you call us here Fair?"

_Us? _She immediately realised that her gut instinct was definitely right. Something terrible was going to happen, and for the first time Tifa wished she invisible.

"Right, both of you...just shut up and listen okay, wait you better both take a seat."

Suspicions were whizzing around the pair's heads, but they took the offer up anyway. Cloud glanced the _girl's _way, giving her the once over as if on auto-pilot, it was almost standard now, well with everything that had breasts, _only women I might add. _Anyway, he wasn't shocked to be revolted by her in general, her clothes...hair..._goddamn everything_ made him scowl! This _girl _had no style, no bloody idea and no fucking brain! _Who the hell goes out like that? What __**is **__that...a forgotten earring stuck in her hair? This isn't a fucking slumber party sweetheart! _He let out a disapproving grunt as she went to sit near him and forcibly pushed her to the other side of the couch, no _way_ did he want something like that closer than necessary. 5 mile necessary, preferably, but he was kind guy, he would make an exception for a couple minutes. He smiled, he really could be generous at times.

Zack seemed to be stalling.

"We're waiting...I don't have time for this Zack, and plus, I don't want that near me for much longer, there's only so much we humans can take."

Tifa's jaw dropped. Literally. Bristling, her veins coursing with anger she was ready to pounce. NO ONE spoke to her like that! _Who the fuck does he think he is?! Bloody..._

"Please! Cloud, behave." Zack could see that this so called 'peace' was on its last tethers and so sped up the process, _they could be angry at me after..._

"Well, I was thinking...well more like I've already done it."

"Done what Fair?"

"Well, you know that new PA..." He took a deep breath as sprinkling understanding flitted across his mate's face, "Is next to you."

_3, 2, 1..._

"WHAT-?!" Was bellowed in unison as they bolted, as if electrocuted, up from their seats, with "THE FUCK?!" followed only by Cloud, eyes bulging all round, the atmosphere instantly became dangerously hostile.

"Now now guys, it's the perfect solution!" Zack just wanted them to _see, _this could work out! He was ever the optimist.

"To _what_ exactly Zack?" Tifa's voice was liquid fire. Smouldering, an octave deeper.

If the death glares from either of them had any real physical effect he would potentially have died ten times over by now, he shivered involuntarily,

"To both your situations, just hear me out, on one hand there's you Tifa, you _need_ this job, you've already told me so-"

"This was hardly what I was expecting to happen once I told you this Zack!"

"Yeah well, I'm trying to help you out," he raised a hand once he saw her preparing for another retort, effectively stopping her, "and on the other, Cloud, you need a PA, and one that you can trust...one that will last longer than two meagre months!"

Cloud sent a scowl his way whilst Tifa frowned (_AGAIN!)_, confusion twisting her brain.

"What do mean, _longer than two months_?"

"It's none of your business." Cloud looked her over with disgust, she visibly flinched,

"What the hell are you-"

Cloud rudely cut her off as if she wasn't even there. _I asked to be invisible...looks like wish granted 24/7 with this jerk-off._

"You're right though, she'd definitely last longer than that, to bloody infinity more like it, and what do you mean _already done_?!" The blond spat out with venom.

It was then that Zack's phone started to ring, he _thanked the lord_, stood up after checking the I.D. and nodded at the other two, silently telling them to _stay there or face his unmerciful wrath...(muahaha)..._or something to that desired effect anyway...nevertheless he headed out for the balcony, effectively escaping World War 3, leaving the still-furious pair alone.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Cloud slouched back against the seat of the sofa unmercifully muttering,

"Why the fuck would he do that? And with _this thing?!_"_...honestly what the hell is fucker on?!_

The dam burst,

"For Christ's sake I have a bloody name you know!"

Without a moment's hesitation, or a glance in her direction, he monotonously replied, "And I care?"

She seemed awestruck, out of the blue, his harsh remarks brought out a confidence that spurred adrenaline to burn through her system like wildfire, never before had she felt _such _a thrill!

"I would like to think I'm decent enough as a person to be partial to the judgemental sensationalism out there, however when it came to you, I _always _felt deep down, well...perhaps not _that _deep, that you were an incorrigible, womanising, alcoholic bastard, just like some of those papers _(albeit the male population aimed magazines...she now knew they did speak some truth, why she was reading them in the first place however...) _said you were, and surprise, surprise, I suppose I was right...you really are a son of a bitch aren't you?"

"Sticks and stones Lockhart," he rolled his eyes, this thing was _so_ not worth his time, "I get worse than that quite often, from feminist bitches like you, and guess what, I still get them screaming my name half an hour later, you don't fool me, you're just like them, and given the chance...who knows what you'd do if left in a room alone with me."

"So we result to calling each other by our surnames, how cliché, Strife. And by the way those were great analytical skills on show sunshine, but lookie here, we're alone..." She waved her arms as if to further prove the point, "and I can't see anyone jumping anyone's bones." She spat the words out, her adrenaline seem relentless.

"That's because I haven't given you the chance Lockhart." He then sent her yet another hypnotically direct, penetrating look which screamed something unidentifiable, something dangerously raw, unchallenged, and something so sexual she felt the surrounding temperature rise and her breathing become laboured.

Then as quickly as it came, he relinquished his gripping hold on her and smirked, raising a brow at her clenched thighs. Realising this, Tifa suppressed a gasp and calmed her thumping heart, which she was _positive he could hear! _And braced herself both mentally and physically for her next offensive.

* * *

**-Tifa: Future-**

In fact, it took an uncalculated amount of time before he told me that: _he really **could** hear the beat of my heart. _

* * *

A/N: HOLY COW. That was SUCH a long hiatus...I am SO sorry guys. :( I don't know what actually came over me?! Perhaps it was the January modules which I had to take (and subsequently failed I think...which makes it all the more painful!) But whatever it was...I apologise profoundly. :(

I only HOPE that this chappy somewhat makes up for it! And I have found a nice slot every week to dedicate myself to update and things...so hopefully things will work out and you're never left waiting again...oh-ho I'm _saying_that...now whether it happens...humdum, different story!

Ah Cloud 3. He makes my blood boil in all types of ways :O. Oh dear...and he's just a bunch of pixels...DAMMIT!

ALSO! 3 to those that reviewed the last chap, they really are wonderful :):- **Cloti22, MtReload, rainydaykisses, Rend :), elfrance A., typical, Sacred3, MsRainy, KarmaBoo, unamariposa, Yumi Rentishi, Mrs. MaxiStrife, ClotiNotCleris, BananaPeaceMonkey.**

This chap was a little shorter than expected, but I wanted to just get it out there to see what you guys think! And I do hope that you're still interested :) Hit me with a review if you'd be so kind! As I've said (and meant) before, it would be greatly appreciated :D

xXx


	7. The Ninja Extraordinaire

Disclaimer: Bam. No. :(

* * *

It was at that precise moment that a beaming Zack re-entered the room, only to find the tension had increased ten-fold, and also that the _tension_ wasn't the only thing which had risen...

"Damn, it's gotten kinda hot in here huh? Ill just…go turn on…the…" He spoke, a little puzzled, thus he took to specifically examining Tifa, trying to gauge some sort of reaction from her, and once he saw the flash of panic in her unusually nervous eyes as she tried to look at everything but either of the men in the room, he knew something had happened…_just what was it?_

"Err…are you guys o-"

"Are we finished?"

He then half turned, and locked his gaze onto Cloud's ever unwavering one…and saw _nothing...So, something had taken place…_

"Well yeah, I just called you guys to tell you…of your new….arrangement. It's final. And Tifa, please don't give me that deer-caught-in-headlights look, you'll be fine, Cloud doesn't really bite…" In fact, he knew for a fact that Cloud_did _bite, but he had thought this through, he wasn't as shit of a friend as either of them thought as he knew it was for both of their benefits. Firstly Tifa, she_ needed_ this, as much as he could recall offhand from the information he had dug up on her earlier, he knew her financial status wasn't too great at the moment, with what being only 19 and yeah, she was smart and all, but with no real qualifications it all meant shit-all in this world, plus the PA slot paid well. _Very well._

Next, there was Cloud. As far as everyone knew, Cloud was untouchable in his current market…and well…he _was. _However, being at the top meant_ staying _at the top for both Cloud and Zack (and the rest of the minions), and the PA was an integral part of the team, Zack just couldn't handle everything on his own (Cloud only trusted him with controlling his fucked up life), therefore he knew he needed an extra pair of hands, and who better than the one girl he trusted the most in his life so far, anyway, he had always found the other girls lacking in one department or the other…and perhaps a little too distracting. So if Zack_ needed _Tifa, Cloud _needed_ her. (At this point he inwardly smiled smugly at himself, thinking his analytical skills were truly mind-blowing). And also, this issue of the reason _why_ each previous PA had been sacked, well he knew wouldn't have to worry about that, Tifa was Zack's, he _loved _her, albeit in a purely platonic way, but still, even after all this time, it was fucking strong. And that was that. It wasn't meant to seem possessive, but Zack supposed that..._deep down, possessive was all it was. _Cloud wasn't _that _stupid anyway. Well…he better not be, because if he was, Zack had the comfort of knowing that till this very day, he was still the only one to _ever really_ take Cloud down, green-bean eyed and all, the previous incident resulting in 3 weeks in 'hospital' and many angry calls from the boss for the model.

_Yeah, Cloud definitely couldn't be that stupid._

Listening to the last part of Zack's sentence trail off Cloud frowned, perplexed. Zack _knew_ him. All of him. _So saying that I won't take advantage… (No matter how…repulsive she seemed) just seems so...so..._Soon enough, without even meaning to, another unfamiliar feeling (in the same amount of days) blossomed in his chest. His body strained a little, he wasn't used to this much emotion, _apart from pleasure…_Anyway, this was different, it left him feeling suddenly invigorated…_warm almost…_

_Trust…_

Zack _trusted_ him.

Him of all people, and with something he deeply cared for no less…Cloud could deduct this from spending too many hours in the confined space of their cars listening to his friend go on…and on…about this wench…_sorry, girl_.._._

He almost smiled. _Almost._

_

* * *

_

Tifa waited for a while, allowing the information to slowly sink down for her too..._I am going to be Cloud Strife's PA...his personal assistant...his...oh. My. GOD! Just what the hell was Zack on? _She was sure that _anyone_ who overlooked even a split second of their sketchy meetings so far could tell immediately that there was no inkling of a blossoming, or blossomed friendship. None. Nada. Zilch! _He bloody well hates me, and I'm not afraid to admit that the feeling is damn mutual! _And their common hatred was something she really couldn't be arsed to change, _So...WHY ZACK? Wasn't he supposed to protect me? Sending me into the wild unknown with some hyper-sexual man is the furthest from 'protection' one could ever be! Great. Great move right there Zack._

Still she couldn't get over it... and to top this whole buggered situation off was the ominous feeling of a premature death by the hands of Ninja Extraordinaire herself.

* * *

Keys jangled lightly from her fingers as she swung them around in slow circles. She was fidgety, and she tried her damn hardest to disguise it, but the woman was positive that anyone could tell she was anxious from just her eyes, let alone her whole body language. If it was anything about this job that she despised, it was this, the long hours spent in confined, claustrophobic spaces, thousands of metres above the ground, where it was _safe. _Maybe it was the fear she despised...whatever it was it didn't matter, she just didn't feel comfortable at all_. _She sighed, a loud and breathy exhale. Turning in the luxurious leather of first class she gazed out of the silly excuse of a window, (she was much rather accustomed to the ceiling to floor types in high class London), and even though the sky was still predominantly dark, she knew that in less than a couple of hours, the beautiful splash of rich gold would peak from under it all. The rising sun. She was _finally_, coming home.

* * *

Back in Tokyo, keys were jangling but from a completely different cause. Tifa was scared shitless, and all she could bring herself to do was stare wildly at the door, and swing her keys. Just what type of painful death lay behind the threshold was screwing with her head, _how the hell was she gonna react? _Slapping herself with her free hand, she decided to _get a hold of herself_, and prepared to go in, however,

"Tifa? Slapping yourself? Really now...what's up?" It was evident in Yuffie's voice that she was a little more than confused.

This was not how the plan that Tifa had meticulously went through minutes before was meant to go! _Oh SHIT! SHITSHITSHIT! What the HELL am I going to do? _Taking a deep (and loud) breath she mentally, and physically, readied herself.

"Oh...you know...the usual...just ran into some _interesting_ people...yeah...erm...yeah."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow.

"Explain."

"I couldn't possibly...ha..."

"What kind of laugh was that you psycho woman? Tell meee."

Visibly cringing from both the unhealthy situation she was in, and Yuffie's awful whining earned her a viciously dirty look, _just the preview of what was to come..._

"-"

Breath.

"I-ran-into-Cloud-yes-the-model-Strife-and-no-I-don't-know-how-or-why-or-just-about-anything-but-I-don't-want-you-to-kill-me-because-my-friend-''

Breath.

"Zack-has-just-got-me-a-job-with-him-for-during-the-daytime-and-well. Errr. Yeah!You-heard-me-correctly-I-officially-have-a-job-with-the-current-obsession-of-your-life...SORRY!"

And with Tifa opened the door in a flourish and ran inside, shutting it behind her.

Yuffie, shocked, stood rooted to the spot slowly deciphering the other woman's rushed sentences. Suddenly her vein popped.

"_TIIIIFAAAA!"_

_

* * *

_

**-Tifa: Future-**

I had always wanted to travel abroad, see the sights of the new world and all that, but I just never had enough money. Strangely, as the realisation of never truly fulfilling this goal occurred to me when I was still at a young age, I unconsciously started to make an effort to build acquaintances with well travelled souls (from bookstores to the local youth centre where there was no shortage of interesting people), and after a while, somewhat clung to them and their extravagant tales of dusty deserts and cool sapphire waters. I would go again and again, weekend after weekend, to the old folk's home, where I claimed I wanted to help with the bingo, but in all truthfulness I just wanted to hear the grandfathers spill their memories of the war. I was in awe of how different it all seemed to the murky smog of Tokyo. I was in awe of them. But, perhaps beneath it all I was just jealous. And to be honest looking back on it...I suppose in a way...I despised them...no, actually, I despised myself, and my own helplessness.

* * *

"HOW-"

Smack!

"COULD-"

SMACK!

"YOU NOT PHONE ME, YOU BITCH!"

Yuffie raised the pillow high above her head for the killer blow, and letting loose with a great bellow her aim proved true as the fluffy item hit Tifa square on her retreating lower back, resulting in yet another explosion of synthetic feathers.

"I'm sorry, seriously stop that now!" Tifa was panting hard at the bottom of the stairs, her friend's little..._perhaps that isn't the right word..._hissy fit had gone on for a good half an hour, giving the both of them a good working out of distorted hide and seek.

"Oh BULLSHIT Tifa! I _knew_ you just wanted a piece of that too! All those times where you were _disgusted_ with the likes of him," she made quotation marks with her fingers, adding to the effect, "were fake, wasn't it! ARGH!"

She made another move to raise the pillow, but Tifa was ready and she grabbed the other woman's arm, effectively trapping her.

"Now listen Yuffie, _please_, you know I'm not that stupid-"

"Whatever-"

"PLEASE!"

"Ok, make it quick, because the great evil ninja is about to escape from her demure confines."

Tifa had to try really hard to stifle her snort.

"Anyway...you have to know that I didn't just forget about you! I asked...no, _pleaded _with Zack for you to have the job," Yuffie's eyes lit up immediately, and Tifa sobered knowing the disappointment was to come,

"But...-"

"But? WHAT, WHY?"

"You're too _young._"

"Oh come on, I'm _barely_ a year younger! Isn't that ageist or something?"

"Yuffie it's more like a year and eleven months! You're not yet 18! You should be still in school!"

"And so should you!"

"Fine I agree, but the fact of the matter is that I'm over 18, and he said that was final!" She wouldn't dare tell her that she readily agreed with Zack, and that she barely forced the suggestion that much, considering the circumstances..._and the two parties involved..._

"Oh fuck that! It's so unfair Tif!" She made a sad puppy dog face, which Tifa would be reluctant to admit, melted her a little.

"I know..."

Suddenly, as if struck by some unseen force, Yuffie was excited again, her eyes alive with mischief, _just where the hell did she get the energy? _However, Tifa knew this only meant trouble...

"Tiiffaaaa..."

"Yes..." she replied very cautiously.

"We're RICH!"

"Say what?"

"Rich! RICH! Yes! Oh my god, why didn't I think of this before?"

_Huh?_

The puzzled look on Tifa's face caused Yuffie to humph in displeasure.

"Oh you idiot! Can't you see what opportunity this poses for us?"

"Opportunity? Money? Well yeah the job plays well, but not _that_ well to get so excited about it..."

"No I'm not talking about the job Tif!"

"Then?" This was all a mystery to Tifa, and then to complicate the matter further, Yuffie unexpectedly went full flow into a stupidly rushed explanation, and the only words Tifa could pull out were, _pictures...website...money...wait, WHAT?_

"Oh hell no Yuffie! I am not gonna stalk him and take photos of him on the toilet and shit like that!"

"Oh come on! It doesn't even have to be that, do you know how _much _his photos sell for? Sometimes well into the hundreds of thousands of yen! Can you believe that?"

"That's just extortionate!"

"That may well be so, but that spells heaven for us! You could take some of him on model sites and we could sell them! They would be so cool, albeit perhaps a little low res but who gives a shit? As long as we can see that fine body of his, the female population can dream in peace!"

"Don't you think that's a little OTT? And plus, don't get ahead of yourself, I haven't agreed to anything-"

"Well you will!"

"Excuse me..."

"Cut the crap, you _owe_ me." The look in Yuffie's eyes was eerily perilous, obviously hinting at certain death by the hands of 'The Ninja'. Tifa had always been worried about the whole third person thing...

However, with that look, Tifa found herself speechless, and Yuffie knew she had won.

"And anyway...after some thought, it's probably better I didn't get the job."

_Finally...she's seen sense..._"Oh and why's that?"

"Cos, duuuh, he obviously would've fallen in love with me at like, a drop of a hat, considering my amazing beautiful-ness, and although that would be more than lovely, I like money...and with you, boob-woman...we won't have that problem!" And with that, she grinned, Cheshire like, and skipped off.

Tifa's jaw dropped.

* * *

**-Past-**

"_Please...just, we can work this out, you know we can. We always do, right?"_

"_..."_

_Her breath shudders._

"_Say something, anything. I'll give you anything, whatever you want, a second chance-"_

_His jaw clenches._

"_That's not it, listen, I don't want a second chance, this isn't what this is ab-"_

_She holds the tears...for the love of god woman, hold them, she thinks. Don't you dare let him see you cry._

"_But I don't care! I'm here, and I'll give them to you, not matter what. As many second chances as you want, just for you. Just for you Z-"_

_He turns away, he cannot bear to see her like this...not ever, least of all when it's because of him. He just doesn't want to risk making more mistakes, and thus hurting her even more._

"_Stop."_

_Rejection. It's cold and haunting as it courses through her veins. She's weak, and doubts she can last much longer. So she goes ahead and pulls out all the stops, knowing this could ruin her._

"_I love you."_

_It was her last defence. He knows it. Thus, he knows it's time. Closing his eyes he savours her heartbroken voice, knowing that he must treasure the few vestiges of her, or else risk losing her completely. But...wasn't that exactly what he was doing? He gathers his wits. It was for the best, or at least he forced himself to believe that._

"_I know."_

_He walks off._

_She waits, at first to see if he looks back, to catch his eye...or anything. He never did. Then she waits because she can't move. Hours pass, and she waits to see if he'll turn back, and run into her ever waiting arms. He never did. And as she weeps, she tries not to focus on that he didn't say it back. He never did._

_

* * *

_

A/N: GARGH! I KNOW! I'm an awful author. My humblest apologies :( And I this is sufficient enough...

And expect a long A/N in the next chap :)

xXx


	8. Judgement Day

**Nothing belongs to me apart from this story...**

* * *

"What about this?"

Yuffie had somehow managed to once again evade the fitting room attendant, and invade herself into Tifa's personal space presenting her with what only she could call a _slutty _work blouse in the comfort of her own fitting room.

"No way! This is a _job_ Yuffie, not some hooker's meeting.."

"Hooker's meeting? Tifa, this is what you call fashion, get used to it!" Earnest laced her voice, "Tomorrow you'll be working at the top end of the market and if I dare let you waltz in wearing what I can only say looks like Grandma clothing it would be the upmost violation of the best-friend code."

"Relax Yuffie, I'm positive that I'll just be doing the background paperwork, no need for the extra effort."

With that Tifa smiled positively at her, and after ignoring the younger's petulant look of despair, she exited the changing rooms with her chosen decent, _conservative _clothes and walked straight through to the cashier. She knew that deep down Yuffie had a valid point, but at the same time she trusted Zack not to stick her in the thick of it without any sort of warning..._well, she prayed that he wouldn't..._

* * *

She thumbed through the contacts on her phone, pausing when she got to _his _name. She could scarcely believe that she was only 10 minutes from where he used to live, _never mind back in the same country..._she never thought this day would come so quickly, it definitely was not in her 'Five Year Plan'. She looked at her surroundings, the familiar scenes tickling her memories, haunting her thoughts. She could see the bustling caf_é_ from here.._our first date._

"Miss Gainsborough, we were thinking that perhaps you would be interested in this property, its modern and contemporary, comes fully furnished and..."

Sighing to herself, the young woman left her daydream of _what could've been _half finished and reacquainted herself with the real world. The past didn't matter anymore anyway, she was a shadow of her former self, and she was back here to prove it.

* * *

**Tifa - Future**

His eyes were a flash of that dangerous icy steel, a warning which seemed to literally burn me. His only words echoed the threat, sending a frozen spark down my spine,

"You have ten minutes."

Unfortunately for him..._and me..._, ten minutes became twenty, which in turn ran into an hour, and then two...until,

"Ok. I understand."

Exhale.

"I forgive you."

It was like a dream, or a nightmare...possibly both just disguised as each other. But I couldn't really tell back then.

* * *

The bar could be quite an eerie place when left alone to lock up, Yuffie had gotten an early night for _god knows what_, but all Tifa noticed at the time was that she returned at around 10pm to a packed out Seventh Heaven looking exhausted..._hmm would have to ask her about that tomorrow...tomorrow..._Tomorrow! It seemed that time had flown since her last meeting with Zack two weeks ago as all of a sudden 'judgement day' (coined by yours truly) had come upon her at last. To be honest Tifa was nervous..._no_, nervous didn't quite cut it. She was panicking hardcore, so much so that a couple of patrons had picked up on her tense state and asked her about it. The fact that she didn't even really know what the job entailed just added to her unease, and that wasn't for a lack of trying to find out, she had asked Zack over the phone quite a few times, the topic of why so many previous PA's lost the job in the first place also came up from her side, but the guy just kept his _damn mouth shut _and refused to disclose much at all. Cloud..._goddamn that insufferable man! _Their few encounters so far had hardly shown a promising future of a professional relationship..._heck I can't even stand to be in the same room as him..._Finally after putting the last chair up on a table and checking the locked front door Tifa made her way upstairs. _Tomorrow's is only a few hours away..._

* * *

It was hot. She could feel the heat emanating from her skin, and the sweat start to form across her body, there was a tingling feeling from deep within her and the grip of fingers on her thighs made her heart jump and her teeth clench. The fingers made their way slowly up and across her body, straying _so close_ to the place where she really wanted them to be, _needed them to be._ They were gentle yet strong, almost _knowing_, setting her skin ablaze in the path they left, running down the insides of her thighs she felt them pull her apart and push her knees up. Her breath hitched. She _knew_ what was coming, and it was just before that point of desperation, where she called to whoever it was to _do it already_, that she felt a flick of a tongue. _Oh god..._one move and it sent her vision spinning, her heart rate soaring, looking down she caught the eyes of the provider of such a guilty pleasure. Blue..._gorgeous, fascinating...oh..._

The door flung open, with a preposterously excited Yuffie bounding in,

"GET UP! GETUPGETUPGETUP!"

"Mpmh noo"

Mornings hardly sat well with the half asleep woman, _and that was some gooooood..._

"TIIIIIFFFFFFAAAAA get your ARSE outta bed right now woman!"

It took a few seconds for Tifa to gather her surroundings. _Shit! _It was Monday! It was Yuffie! She was wet..._Oh god...why did I have such a crazy crazy dream! _But it was the first two points that seemed to jolt the young brunette out of her sexual haze. Sitting up straight in bed she blinked a few times in Yuffie's direction and slapped a hand to her face wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"It's late, that's what it is! Didn't you set your alarm? It's already 7.30..."

With that Tifa's eyes widened _why the fuck didn't my alarm go off? _She leaned over to her table to find her phone off the charger, well and truly dead.

"SHIT! I've only got 20 minutes to get ready!"

_Bollocks..._

* * *

Her Mini was not a happy bunny. Tifa knew she should've gotten it fixed months ago but she was low recently in pocket and catalytic converters of an old foreign car did not come cheap. The despairing smoking-addict's like coughs that it was letting loose was plain embarrassing, but she didn't care, there were far more things to worry about. _Like how I had no bloody time to iron my blouse...and why is it now too tight around my flipping boobs, and I haven't touched my hair or done my makeup or..._it was no doubt a bad start to a terrifying day. Not good. Not good at all.

She rolled outside Zack's on the dot of 8.40, thanking her lucky stars she wasn't too late she hesitantly made her way up the stairs, lightly knocking on the door.

_Breathe Tifa. Breathe. Breathe Tifa. Breathe._ It was the only way she could gather her confidence, _which no doubt I'm gonna need today.._._Bre-_

"Well looky here."

Zack's smile was too radiant at such an early hour, and it was when he properly looked at her that he sent a quirked brow her way,

"Not a morning person are you sweetheart?"

Raising a hand in front of her face, and with a sour unimpressed look gracing her features she pushed both him and herself into his house. Once she had closed the door behind she turned to him apologetically,

"I'm so sorry I wasn't really on time, I know it's a bit unprofessional but I forgot to put my damn phone on charge and the alarm didn't go off, and I had no time to pick out the clothes, or put my _game_ face on, and I had such a bad sleep..._yehh..._but I know no excuses, it's a bit shitty of me for the first da-"

"A bit shitty..."

The low drawl of the voice was strikingly familiar and the sarcasm of the laugh that followed was almost deadly. Tifa could feel her body shudder from the realisation of who it was...

"Zack's doing you a favour, and you could only repay him by being late dressed worse than someone who's homeless. Do me a favour Zack and just allow this. I don't have the time or _money_ to waste on it."

Dangerous blue eyes were trained directly on her and a sneer marked his lips. Cloud Strife looked positively livid. Tifa felt sick under the gaze alone, and with every word his stare seemed to intensify, locking her in one place. _Homeless? IT? Holy shit this man had some fucking nerve! _She racked her brain for some sort of worthwhile reply, but everything seemed to be failing her this morning. Where the _hell_ was her confidence that she drummed up outside? This was exactly what she needed it for, the countless insults, the degrading complete disregard of her existence...

"Cloud...play nice. It's her first day."

Smiling to Tifa Zack held her arm and walked her away from the blonde and towards the kitchen,

"You both obviously got up on the wrong side of bed, don't worry. You probably skipped breakfast right? Now tell me, what would you like? Its gonna be a long day..."

_Great, just great._

* * *

**_Countless apologies..._**


End file.
